The Russian netminder was signed through this season by his former team, Kuznetskie Medvedi, but elected to choose American hockey without much controversy. (@IgorKleyner) The 19-year-old played three seasons with Kuznetskie, posting two seasons with a GAA under 3.00 (2.90 and 2.98) and a save percentage that constantly hovered around .900.

Kostenko was a part of Caps development camp, and Capitals 101 was very impressed with his athletic abilities and fancy glovework. Standing at 5-11, 187 pounds, Kostenko plays much larger while in between the pipes.

He'll likely begin the season with the Reading Royals, the Caps new ECHL affiliate.

While it will surely be a long progression, Kostenko certainly has the abilities and potential to make it to the NHL level.